"We were held up in some type of man-made caves and the only water we had was a part of a stream that happened to be flowing by," he said.

Now 64 years later, Sgt. Jurek is one of dozens of war heroes who will be honored for their service during a day-long trip to the nation's capital on Honor Flight Northland.

"At first it was to honor them, now it's become more than that. It's become a way for them to heal, to be with people that had the same experiences they have, it's just a good thing," said Judy Greske, who helps organize the flight.

The journey of a lifetime gives Veterans the chance to visit their memorials in Washington, D.C.

This latest flight comes just three years after the first.

"I had questioned whether the first flight would get off the ground so to be our 7th flight, when you get to the point you can't remember what happened on what flight," Greske said.

The price tag is $90,000 per flight, but the memories are priceless.

"Here is the changing of the guard. That is really something. You could have heard a pin drop, it was so quiet," World War II veteran Ernie Johnson said as he paged through his photo album.

Johnson can't put down the album from the third Honor Flight.

He admits it took some convincing before he agreed to go. "Flying and me don't agree," he said.

The Honor Flight is a chance of a lifetime all packed into less than 24 hours.

"It's a long day, but they seem to be energized by the day, so, nobody is sleeping on the way home," Greske said.

Thanks to donations from the community and a number of groups, the Honor Flights are free for Veterans. However, donations are needed to make another flight possible .

Wilber Littler was born in 1915 and grew up on a small farm in the Cass Lake, MN area. Times were tough, especially during the Depression, and survival literally meant relying on your skills as a farmer, hunter and fisherman. Money and jobs were scarce.